St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-02
THE FIDELITY BANK,
Wiltshire Gives Out Some More In
teresting Facts.

CINCINNATI, Dec. 1.-The Harper
trial was resumed this morning with j.
W. Wiltshire, the good-looking broker,
on the stand. His testimony in chief
had been of the most direct nature,
showing that he had purchased for Har-
per in the Chicago market about 2O,OOO.-
600 bushels of wheat, of which they
were holding ID, ,000,O0 when the crash
came last June. When it came to the
crOss-examinatiOn Wiltshire proved to
be loaded for more than one kind of
game. Nearly the first question brought
out the fact that Wiltshire had deposited
checks aggregating $500, 900 on the First
National bank of this city and $4,000
on the Merchants bank with the Fidel-
ity, where they were treated as cash.
He had not that amount of money in
those banks at the time the checks were
drawn, but he did it because he was in
Structed so to do by Harper, whom he
supposed to be abundantly able to take
care of the checks. Said Blackburn,
looking the witness Squarely inthe eye:
''Tell me now, here are the checks on
the First National to the amount Of
$3.50, 900 drawn by you May s, 1887. How
much money had you in that bank at
the timer"
Don't remember"
Don't you know it was not as much
as S1O,00O."
+ Perhaps it was not.''
"NOw," said Blackburn, "dO you call
that legitimate business?"
Il don't call it illegitimate."
"What, putting out bogus checks with
no money behind them?"
Il did not know what Mr.. Harper had
done to protect them, and l looked to
him for protection" was tie explana-
ton, which was more satisfactory to the
witness than to others who heard it.
AT this point the court took a recess
till afternoon.
On crOss-eXamiGatiOn in the after
noon, Wiltshire said he believed that the
checks already named were about all he
had deposited with the Fidelity bank.
He had
GIVEN CHECKS TO HARPER
to take up others, he did not know to
what amount. On the evening of June
IA he saw Harper at the bank and got
the package to take to Chicago. AL
Gahr, Harper's brOther-in-law, went
with him to Chicago and took
possession of the envelope Har-
per had given him, saying
it contained 100000. He went to the
Ddnk, htISlldW dllu I1Oy u accompanying
him. His instructions were based on a
telegram from Harper to the American
National Exchange bank. If the bank
would agree to take this package and
see that the brokers representing the
deal there were amply protected and fur
niSh them such accommodations as
would carry it out, he was to leave the
package. He acted under these in
structions and did not think it anything
unusual. The governments council
then took the witness and showed by
him that several orders for wheat
were signed by Harper with his
own initials. In reply to ques-
ton witness said checks on the First
National were met by deposits by the
Fidelity. So far as he knew all the
money came from the Fidelity. EbeneZer
Schofield, cashier of the First National
bank of New York, and James A. Quin-
Ian. Jr., cashier of the Chemical
National bank, testified regarding the
loans OF 100000 and 100000 made re-
spectively to Harper. They also gave
a list of collaterals for the loan, in
Guiding notes of various companies in
which Harper was interested. The
testimony of these witnesses was intro
duced to show that Harper was insol-
vent at the time; that the money he
used was drawn from the bank. while
special account was kept for the pur-
pose of giving him fictitious credit.